Top row, left to right: making of the traditional bee skep (from Wikipedia); a stack of welded brass rings; brass rings with a ground surface to create straw-like texture; shaping the segments of the brass rings with a peening hammer and wooden cradle
Bottom row, left to right: welding the brass rings together with an oxyacetylene torch and brazing rods; two welded rings with clamps to attach a third; measuring the uppermost ring, which has been hammered to reduce its diameter, in order to create a tapered top for the skep; a bee skep from a french fairytale
open studio: brazing steel torus /
Brazing a custom connector to the center of a steel torus. Kelly Heaton, work-in-progress, September 2014
pollinators: death to drones /
As cold weather approaches, the worker bees (female) expel the drones (male) in preparation for winter. Drones can be identified by their larger eyes that meet in the center, as well as their larger black abdomen. The smaller, active bees are the females working to remove the dead. Bees in this role are known as "undertakers" for the hive. Nearly all of the bees in this video are dead or dying drones on the ground in front of their once nurturing hive. In another month or two, the remaining worker bees will form a tight cluster around the queen, vibrating their wings to keep the colony warm (a remarkable 94 - 98 degrees F in the center); and rationing their honey supply until Spring.
This video also shows signs of hygienic behavior - notice the drone larvae which appear affected by Varroa mites. I am doing a mite count to see if I need to treat this hive.
September 2014 / Clarke County, Virginia
pollinators: (wo)manmade habitat /
Kelly Heaton, images from work in progress, 2014. Fabric, wire, paint & other sculptural media
open studio: perfume /
My perfumer's organ within my studio. Kelly Heaton, July 2014
Breathe in, the wonderful world of smell, and see with your inner eye
pollinators: our bees, ourselves /
Excellent article in the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1zDc7Vw
Image: Katie Scott. Article: Mark Winston. Source: New York Times
God Will Save Me
A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately.
A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.”
The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.”
As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.”
The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!”
The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop.
A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, "Grab my hand and I will pull you up!" But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!”
Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned.
When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?”
And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?"
open studio: fake food for pollinators /
Media: fabric, cloth, wire and paint. Work in progress, Kelly Heaton, 2014